Maasai Mara

The lions were sleeping from a food hangover brought on by feasting all night on a water buffalo. Two females, a young male and the dominant male were lying near the carcass. On the road we had seen a young male, alone under a tree. The game driver said that lion had been outcast because he had killed the cubs of a female. Another female was now hiding her cubs in the bush to keep them alive.

The driver takes us straight to the carcass. The dominant male gets up for seconds. The ribs have been stripped of meat. The head still there. He is not interested in me today. I watch as he applies pressure from his teeth, his paws.

on the open plain

animals graze and lookout

preying or preyed on

_______________

dVerse prompt to write a haibun about a situation of pressure. I was going to add a photo but kind of gross.

Diani Beach

Sand

and water

on my feet

tide going out

coming in again

as I walk a shell line

or wade in knee deep

caught in a clouded sky

between heaven and earth

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dVerse prompt on place. I think the beach will always be my place.

Kilimanjaro

In space in time I sit thousands of feet above the sea May Sarton

There are many who have come to my three peaks. Shira is my easiest at 13,140 feet, Kibo my highest at 19,340 (highest peak in Africa) and Mawenzi at 16,893. It is not a technical climb but rather a feat of endurance and determination. Do not get altitude sickness or you will fail.

Hemingway camped at my feet. His interest was in hunting and taking trophy, not in climbing me. Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller were the first Europeans to my summit in 1889. Yohani Kinyala Lauwo, a native, and declared member of this summit party, did my summit three times before WWI, once without shoes.

On a clear day you can see my snows from miles away. Come and see my mountain of whiteness. Come and strive for my highest summit Uhuru Peak, Freedom Peak in Kiswahili.

____________________

dVerse prompt to use May Sarton quote in flash fiction. This is flash historical fiction with Kilimanjaro speaking.

The Little Prince’s Baobabs

What is the last thing you learned?

Do you remember how the little prince plucked out the baobabs to keep them from harming his rose? I learned the baobabs were symbolic of ridding the world of Nazis.

Safari

I went to Mombasa

I did not see rain

there is drought in Amboseli

elephants are dying

wildebeests zebras Maasai giraffe

🦒🐘🦒🐘🦒🐘🦒🐘🦒🐘🦒🐘

I went to Maasai land

I did not see a bow

only spears and panga

arrows used to kill

when the loins attack

🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆

I went to Maasai Mara

to see the wildlife

thunderstorms on the horizon

got wet in the landrover

viewed a perfect rainbow

🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

_____________

dVerse prompt to use a threesome. My choice is rain, bow and rainbow.

Swimming

I went out into the sea

ready to die

waves crashing at my knees

salt water lifted me

I was made alive

beach walk brought me home

sand sucked my toes

sun on skin

and out on the horizon

the boatman comes

Baobab

I stopped by the side of the road

witness to a baobab

mighty in age and stature—

to behold such a tree

leaves me gasping

as some have been uprooted

for export

left caged in Kilifi

subject now to law

please protect the baobabs

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dVerse quadrille using the word gasp. I have wanted to see a baobab and this one was fine. In November 2022 export of eight huge baobabs was stopped by the Kenyan government. Now they wait in cages.

One Day

Who would think that one day I would be marching to Rule, Britannia with other wazungu, one Indian and a Kenyan. We sweat together, smile and laugh in a cheerful atmosphere of aerobic exercise.

Outside the matatus and tuk tuks drive on, delivering workers and school children under the tropical sky and half-moon.

on a veranda

wait for the rainy season

to fall on us all

________________

dVerse prompt to write a haibun and use of the word half-moon

Enjoy Life

Do you enjoy your job?

Life is a job and I enjoy my life. It is a paid position of sunny days, sounds of nature and God’s presence.

Traveling to Mombasa

I am travelling to Mombasa with maybe five hours of sleep over two days. Delays, delays, delays and not sure I really slept at all. The movies keep me entertained. The food is okay.

The gritty leg from Doha to Nairobi, I see the desert beneath me and the three small children traveling with their mother let out sounds like a mad cat. They cry and moan sometimes in an echo of the other and sometimes in unison. This cacophony lasts for the duration.

let out a howl

unpleasant in the pleasant

changing of seasons